A Trip To This Charming, Working Mill In Wyoming Is Unforgettable
By Catherine Armstrong|Published November 05, 2018
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Catherine Armstrong
Author
Writer, editor and researcher with a passion for exploring new places. Catherine loves local bookstores, independent films, and spending time with her family, including Gus the golden retriever, who is a very good boy.
There’s nothing like snuggling into a warm, cozy sweater, or pulling a knitted scarf around your neck when the weather’s chilly. Have you ever wondered where your sweater got its start? This charming, working mill in Wyoming will show you!
Basque immigrants settled in the West at the turn of the 20th century, many building ranches right here in Wyoming. They raised sheep that provided wool for decades.
Unfortunately, as wool prices took a plunge in the 1990s, many ranches started closing. To save this tradition, Karen Hostetler opened a wool mill in 2002, and started offering premium prices for top-quality wool. 16 years later, Mountain Meadow Mill continues to produce some of the highest-quality yarn on the market.
The fine merino wool comes from several breeds of sheep, including Rambouillet, Cormo, Targhee, Merino and Columbia. It's washed using non-harsh soaps, which leaves plenty of the original lanolin in the wool. This process keeps the wool nice and soft.
Mountain Meadow Wool Mill processes more than 15,000 pounds of wool every year, producing 23 different kinds of yarn. The mill uses environmentally-friendly manufacturing processes, recycling more than 50 of its water, and avoiding harsh chemicals.
